C
I t w a s l u n c h t i m e b e f o r e L i t a h a d
a c h a n c e t o p u r s u e w h a t w a s o n h e r
m i n d .
" H e y , A m y ? "
" H m ? " A m y d i d n ' t l o o k u p f r o m t h e
A d v a n c e d P h y s i c s b o o k s h e h a d h e r
n o s e i n .
" I ' v e b e e n m e a n i n g t o a s k , w h e r e
h a v e y o u b e e n d u r i n g t h e p a s t
w e e k ? " A m y j u m p e d l i k e a s t a r t l e d
r a b b i t .
G o t c h a ! L i t a t h o u g h t .
" I w o k e u p i n a n a l l e y w a y , " s h e
s a i d , h e r v o i c e t a k i n g o n t h e s i n g
s o n g q u a l i t y t h a t s o m e p e o p l e u s e
w h e n r e c i t i n g s o m e t h i n g p r e v i o u s l y
c o m m i t t e d t o m e m o r y . " A n d I
s o m e h o w m a n a g e d t o m a k e i t h o m e .
M o m t o o k m e t o t h e h o s p i t a l . "
" W h i c h o n e ? "
" M e t r o G e n e r a l . "
" W e w e r e a t M e t r o G e n e r a l , " L i t a
drawled, " D i d n ' t s e e y o u t h e r e . " A m y
w a s s a v e d f r o m h a v i n g t o a n s w e r a s
t h e b e l l r a n g . " S e e y o u a f t e r
s c h o o l ! " L i t a c a l l e d a s A m y
q u i c k l y g r a b b e d u p h e r b o o k s a n d
a l l b u t r a n f r o m t h e t a b l e .
F e e l i n g o d d l y p l e a s e d , L i t a t o s s e d
h e r l u n c h i n t o t h e t r a s h c a n a n d
s a u n t e r e d t o w a r d s h e r n e x t c l a s s .
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
W h e n A m y e x i t e d t h e s c h o o l , L i t a
w a s w a i t i n g .
" H e y , A m e s ! " s h e c a l l e d . A m y
a l m o s t d r o p p e d h e r b o o k s .
" O h . H i , L i t a , " s h e s a i d .
" C h e c k o u t t h i s n e a t b o o k I f o u n d
i n t h e l i b r a r y . "
" B o o k ? "
" Y e a h . " L i t a o p e n e d t h e b o o k t o
t h e s p o t s h e h a d c h o s e n a n d b e g a n
r e a d i n g e v e n a s s h e k e p t a n e y e o n
A m y ' s f a c e . " W e r e w o l v e s a r e t h e
m o s t c o m m o n f o r m o f w h a t i s
s c i e n t i f i c a l l y k n o w n a s
l y c a n t h r o p y . G e n e r a l l y , a w e r e w o l f
p o s s e s s e s t h r e e f o r m s . H o m i d , o r
h u m a n f o r m . L u p u s h o m i d , w h i c h i s a
g e n e r a l l y b i p e d a l f o r m c o m b i n i n g
t h e t r a i t s o f H o m i d a n d L u p u s , a n d
L u p u s , o r t h e p u r e w o l f f o r m . "
" I n t e r e s t i n g , " A m y s a i d , her expression
blank and Lita was suddenly a little less sure of herself.
"Uh . . . yeah."
Amy still wore that blank expression. "We have a scout meeting soon,
Lita, we should probably get going."
"Uh yeah," Lita said and let Ami lead the way down the steps to the bus.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
T h e m o o n hadn't risen yet to cast it's pale light over
Tokyo . C a r s d r o n e d b y e v e r y s o
o f t e n , t h e i r e n g i n e s s e e m i n g o d d l y
l o u d .
S t a n d i n g i n t h e s h a d o w s a c r o s s
t h e s t r e e t , L i t a s u r v e y e d t h e
s t r u c t u r e . I t w a s a g o o d f i f t y
s t o r i e s h i g h , w i t h t h e o c c a s i o n a l
l i g h t s h o w i n g t h r o u g h d r a p e s .
T h e D o r a s h m a , o n e o f T o k y o ' s m o r e
e x c l u s i v e ap a r t m e n t h o m e s, b o a s t e d
a l l t h e a m e n i t i e s o f a h o u s e .
T h r e e p o o l s , h e a l t h c l u b , a
G a r d e n , c o n t r o l l e d e n t r y ,
c a t h e d r a l c e i l i n g s , t h e w o r k s .
L i t a h a d b e e n i n s i d e a f e w t i m e s ,
m o s t l y w i t h t h e r e s t o f t h e s c o u t s
t o p i c k u p A m y b e f o r e g o i n g
s o m e w h e r e . N i c e p l a c e .
" I k n o w w h a t I s a w , " L i t a
m u t t e r e d t o h e r s e l f , " I k n o w w h a t
I s a w a n d I ' m g o i n g t o p r o v e i t . "
S t e e l i n g h e r s e l f , s h e f a d e d b a c k
i n t o t h e s h a d o w s s o m e m o r e a n d
t o o k o u t h e r p e n .
" J u p i t e r S t a r P o w e r . "
As fast as t h e l i g h t i n g s h e w i e l d e d ,
S a i l o r J u p i t e r d a r t e d a c r o s s t h e
s t r e e t a n d l e a p t t h e h i g h f e n c e .
F l i t t i n g f r o m s h a d o w t o s h a d o w ,
s h e c r o s s e d t h e l a w n a n d w a i t e d i n
t h e b u s h e s n e a r t h e f r o n t d o o r .
S o o n e n o u g h , s o m e o n e o p e n e d t h e
d o o r t o l e a v e a n d s h e s l i p p e d
i n s i d e, i n t o t h e s t a i r w e l l , t h e n a l l
b u t f l e w u p t h e s t a i r s t o A m y ' s
f l o o r .
C h a n g i n g b a c k t o L i t a o n t h e
l a n d i i n g , s h e p a u s e d a s d o u b t once
again g n a w e d a t t h e c o r n e r o f h e r
b r a i n . I t w a s p o s s i b l e s h e ' d b e e n
s e e i n g t h i n g s and Ami hadn't reacted to the book
earlier . W h a t i f s h e w a s w r o n g ?
N o , s h e k n e w w h a t s h e h a d s e e n .
S h e g l a n c e d a t t h e timetable she'd copied out
o f t h e A l m ana c a n d t h e n a t h e r
w a t c h before stepping into the hall and walking to Amy's door.
"Oh, hello, Lita," Amy said when she answered. "Is something wrong?"
"Hey, Amy. Listen, can you come up to the roof with me? It's important."
"But my history report . . ."
"Please?"
"I suppose so." Amy retrieved her keys and stepped into the hallway
with Lita, locking the door behind her.
As they stepped onto the roof, the Moon was just coming up over the
horizon and Lita grabbed Amy by the shoulders and turned her to face
it. "See? The full moon."
"Yes. What about it?"
"Well, it's the full moon! I mean, don't you . . . feel anything?"
"Not really, no."
Lita stared at her friend's face, who returned her stare with a
politely puzzled expression.
"Oh, God," Lita groaned, backing away until she could sit down on an
AC conduit. "Oh, God, Amy, I'm sorry. I swear I saw you change after
Silmas tortured us, you turned into some kind of wolf-thing and I was
so sure it was real. It was the full moon and I thought . . ." She
buried her face in her hands. "God, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
There was silence for the longest time, and then Amy sighed and laid
her hand on Lita's shoulder.
"Actually, Lita." Amy's voice was soft and when Lita looked up, her
mouth fell open. Amy's eyes were glowing yellow. "It doesn'quite work
that way. At least for me." She smiled and the glow died away. "I'd
just made some tea when you came by. I suppose we should talk."
----------------------------------
Amy had been raised traditionally, and that meant a guest got both
tea and something to eat. But thanks to the wonders of modern
technology, the snacks could be made in under three minutes.
Finally, when the food was laid out, Amy sat across from Lita and
wrapped her hands around her cup. "Lita, you can't tell anyone what
I'm about to tell you. Not even the rest of the Scouts. If the pack
ever finds out I've spoken to an outsider . . . we're both dead."
Something in her expression told Lita that she was dead serious so
she nodded agreement. "Okay."
Amy took a deep breath. "We're not sure where we come from, but our
own legends claim that a wolf spirit saved the life of a maiden. The
maiden turned out to be a moon goddess called the Silver Queen, who
bestowed upon him the ability to assume human form, but he retained
his immortality. He took the name Ulfric and married a human
princess, Makano, who bore him many children, each of whom inherited
his ability and immortality. Together, they served as the gaurdians
of Earth in the Silver Queen's name and all life prospered."
"Wolf spirit, moon goddess, life prospered, okay," Lita nodded,
though something was poking at the corner of her brain.
"Ulfric's wife grew old and eventually passed away and they spent
many centuries in mourning. Eventually, the Black Queen came and
promised to return Makano to them, if in turn they would pledge to
serve her. Besot with grief, Ulfric and his children agreed, and gave
themselves to the Black Queen's service."
"Let me guess, she was evil."
"Very evil. The Black Queen's magic twisted their minds and filled
them with hate for the moon, fueling their rage. She also made it
possible for them to create others like them simply by biting a
person, and all too soon, she had an army of wolf-beasts, each
immortal, vicious, and utterly unstoppble. She and her generals led
them and other nameless horrors to the Silver Queen's palace on the
moon, where they ground it down to dust as the Silver Queen and Black
Queen slew each other in a terrible battle."
"Wait a second," Lita was frowning. "Black Queen, Silver Queen,
palace on the moon . . . you know what that sounds like?"
"Like the fall of the Moon Kingdom? Yes, it had occured to me as
well. In any case, Ulfric's oldest children came to their senses.
They hunted down all their bretheren save Ulfric himself, who took
their immortality and cursed them to be forever vunerable to the call
of their wolf side, especially under a full moon. He also decreed
that silver would be fatal, and the Black Queen's curse was still
present as well."
"So what happened to Ulfric, and why are things different for you?"
"Ulfric? He was still filled with hate and rage, but directed at all
life, not just the Black Queen's enemies and whatever shred of
decency had compelled him to alter his curse eventually faded because
he created this." She dropped a button on the table and Lita picked
it up. It was heavy, and made of some odd metal. On it was a pair of
crossed bones over a bleeding heart.
"They're called the Bloody Bones," Amy's voice was flat and hard. "An
army of necromancers, half demons, and their undead slaves. Ulfric's
final vengance on his children and the world he hates. They are
corruption personified and every werewolf alive knows this symbol and
fears it more than anything, even the Order. I got this when I made a
grab for Silmas as he teleported out, along with his monster."
"But what about you?"
"I'm not a true werewolf, not in the eyes of the Pack. My father was
an ordinary human and that means I'm different. I'm less vunerable to
silver and I can resist the call of the moon and my beast . . .
though, when the moon rises, it isn't . . . easy." There was an odd
note in Amy's voice and Lita looked down at her cup and then
swallowed. Amy's fingers had curled into a fist, her fingers leaving
deep grooves in the hardwood table. Lita swallowed again as she
realized the self-control Amy must be exerting. "Do you have any idea
what it's like to feel a beast within you?" Amy continued, her voice
harsh and her breathing heavy. "One that is constantly pressing
against the back of your mind, seeking an opening. Any opening, by
which to break out and consume you?"
Lita pressed back against her chair. Amy was staring at her, eyes
glowing yellow and as she talked, Lita could see her teeth slowly
lengthen and grow to points. "Amy?"
"Do you have any idea how much I envy you and the others? How you can
cut loose whenever you want? Do you? DO YOU?" The last two words came
out in a roar as Amy's grip on her cup tightened and the ceramic
shattered, causing them both to jump. "I . . " the glow had faded
from Amy's eyes. "Lita, I . . ."
"The beast . . . that's why you study so much, isn't it?" Lita asked
gently.
Amy nodded. " I enjoy it, and thinking about the beast tends to give
it an opening and so I . . ." She took a deep breath, her eyes
closed, as though she was steeling herself for something, but somehow
Lita knew she was forcing the beast back into whatever kennel she
kept it chained in. "I never wanted you to see that. I'm sorry, Lita."
The look of self-loathing on her face tugged at Lita's heart and she
gathered her friend into her arms. "It's cool," she told her. "We're
cool."
------------------------
Lita cooked dinner and then they watched a movie. Amy's mother was
away, so they were free to talk, though the conversation was
carefully not about the supernatural, and the movie was a
lighthearted comedy.
Afterwards, they cleaned up and Lita prepared to go home. As she
shrugged on her jacket, she thought of something.
"Hey, Amy?"
"Hm?"
"About these Bloody Bones dudes."
"Yes?"
"We have to tell the guys."
"What? No! My . . ."
Lita rolled her eyes. "They don't have to know about that."
"You mean, lie?"
Lita shook her head. "Amy, I've lived on my own since my folks died.
Lies get found out sooner or later or you slip and they come out. But
half truths, on the other hand, those are much better for hiding
things you don't want people too find out. I should know." She
grinned. "If I hadn't mastered the art of the half-truth, I'd be in
an orphange or something."
"I don't know . . ."
"All we're doing is leaving out a few things. You tore that button
off Silmas' coat while we were in his clutches. This is what the
symbol on it means. Everyone will assume you researched it."
"You really think it would work?"
Lita winked at her. "Trust me."
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